NEW YORK—NYSEG and RG&E report fewer than 1,000 customers are without power at mid-day following two days of heavy snow and high winds. The majority of the remaining outages are in Columbia, Sullivan, and Rensselaer counties. Additional crews from NYSEG, RG&E, and neighboring utilities joined the effort in the hardest hit communities this morning. The companies expect to complete the restoration in all areas by this evening.

NYSEG and RG&E have been contending with storm-caused outages from strong winds and wet, heavy snow since Sunday. By Tuesday morning, the restoration effort had expanded to include 149 line crews from NYSEG and RG&E backed by several hundred support and logistics personnel and assisted by more than 140 line crews from area contractors, neighboring utilities, the company’s sister utility in Connecticut, plus an additional 78 tree removal crews. Deep snow and slippery roads have caused multiple traffic accidents, contributing to the number of broken poles and downed power lines. The travel conditions have also added to the difficulties for crews traveling and working on the roadside.